The Last Soul to SAVE
by RosaViva
Summary: After seven years of peace on the Surface, Monster kind is finding prosperity, but Frisk is still haunted by the one soul that she was unable to save. After one night, She vows to find a way to save them without resetting ever again. Frisk is female and a young adult. Mild Frisk/Sans fluff and moments on the side.
1. Prologue

_Hello everyone. Welcome to my first fanfiction! I have to say that this story was inspired by a number of theories and works by this awesome fandom! This comic in particular here was what inspired me to write this story in the first place: **post/132252432497/instead-of-finishing-the-last-two-days-of-inktober**_

 _Feel free to critique and I hope whether you're a pacifist or a sinner that you enjoy and stay Determined!_

 **The Last Soul to SAVE**

 **An Undertale Fanfiction**

 **Prologue**

It had been seven years since monster kind had been freed from the underground. It wasn't a smooth transition to say the least. Those early days from coming out from under Mt. Ebott had caused quite a stir from the human race. Less a knee-jerk reaction of fear of the monsters, but rather a realization that the goverment on the surface had a lot to answer for. It had been a few centuries since the barrier to the monster world had been created and the human race could no longer wield magic and had all but forgotten about the very existence of monsters. Or at least, the goverment did a very good job of keeping the knowledge of their existence under wraps. On the very day the monsters returned, the human conspiracy theorists practically had a field day. Especially considering the fact that from the collective group of monsters that had first dared to reveal themselves, a small human child was the one that led them. The one that the monsters owed their freedom to.

Frisk was a twelve year old human girl at the time, who had fallen down the mountain's deep crevice for reasons that were a secret to everyone but herself. A person of few words, she ventured through the treacherous yet quirky underground in hopes of returning home, ultimately for reasons she herself could not quite comprehend, since she vaguely remembered about not being happy with life on the surface.

But after all the hardships she endured, through a disorienting flurry of saving and resets, two powers that she had no idea how she came to wield, she finally met the sun again with her six closest companions. The family she chose. Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys and Asgore.

As the human ambassador for the underground, she reassured the first humans they faced that her friends came in peace, and that she wasn't their prisoner, which was first assumed the moment they laid eyes on the small girl. After the first few strained days of easing the monsters into life on the surface, she was taken more seriously as an ambassador. She probably had spoken more than she had in her whole life with all the televised speeches she made on behalf on the monster race. She became famous. A role model for humans, a hero of monster kind. Her life was changed forever.

Seven years passed and she was now a young woman. After completing her education and attending the finest college the surface had to offer, she travelled the world, strengthening the bonds between the human and monster races as her role as ambassador. After a while, she returned to the welcoming arms of her village which was run by her adoptive mother and father, Toriel and Asgore, and located on the outskirts of the Capital City and within view of Mt. Ebott. Monsters had the freedom to travel and live wherever they wanted, but a small few decided to set up a close congregation an hour's travel away from the Mountain, since there was still a few monsters that chose of their own will to stay in the underground for whatever reason, so the village was set up closely for whenever the underground dwellers desired to visit or even move out. The village was dubbed 'Monster Village' by Asgore, who was notoriously uncreative with names. Toriel and Asgore resumed to rule together, their relationship slowly but surely mending over the years. However, despite how happy everyone was, Frisk always had that looming reminder in the back of her mind, especially everytime she saw Toriel or Asgore.

The reminder of the one who she couldn't save. The deceased son of Toriel and Asgore.

Asriel.

The truth was that Frisk wasn't the one who destroyed the barrier, but rather Asriel. With the power of all the souls in the underground, he was able to set everyone free, but nobody knew this but Frisk herself. Asriel was technically soulless, neither alive or dead, so he didn't have the free will to leave the underground and was doomed to an eternal purgatory in the ruins. How _could_ Frisk tell anyone? The dead son of the King and Queen had been transformed into a sentient, sociopathic flower for all those years and had somehow breifly come back to life with the power of all the souls of the underground? It was impossible to believe, even if the guilt tore her apart and she wanted desperately to tell someone, since she felt like she was almost living a lie. Though in a way, it would be cruel to even mention, considering the hurt it would bring to Toriel and Asgore. After all, the death of your own child is a wound that will never fully heal, and truthfully, half of it was what broke them apart from each other, the other half being Asgore's desire for vengeance.

But sometimes, when Frisk looked upon Mt. Ebott from Monster Village where she and her closest companions lived, she wondered... could she... would she?... ever be able to save Asriel? After all the resets she'd endured and all the times she had to save, she thought there _had_ to be a way. If there was one thing she learned from her journey, it was that there was _always_ a way. Even if she vowed never to reset again after all this time. She couldn't bear the thought of it, after growing up and experiencing the world and making it a better place. Not to mention the true love she found after all this time in one of her dearest friends, Everything she worked for was precious to her and she couldn't bear to go back to being twelve years old and doing it all again. There had to be a way to save Asriel without resetting.

The hope that she could one day save Asriel filled Frisk with Determination.


	2. A Cry for Help

The warmth of the sun beaming from above the mountain's crevice just felt so nice. It reflected off of all the golden flowers in a brilliant glow. Now that she thought about it, it was quite a beautiful place to have fallen down onto in the Ruins.

Frisk was just lying there in the small golden meadow on the thick bed of flowers, enjoying the mild warmth of the sun. Everything felt so peaceful, like she never wanted to get up. She felt like a child again. The one thing that kept her from drifting off was the childlike laughter that echoed from the distance. Frisk's eyes shot open upon hearing her named called. "Frisk, _Friiiisk_ , hey Frisk! Don't you wanna join me? I've already caught six of them!"

Frisk lazily rolled onto her side to look up. Asriel was calling out to her from the other end of the small cave with a silly grin on his face. He had a butterfly net in one hand, and a plastic container punched with holes through it in his other hand, containing about six butterflies. His bubbliness was infectious. Frisk frowned slightly to herself. It's was... strange that she was seeing him so happy, but she couldn't put put her finger on why that was. Come to think of it... she didn't remember ever coming back here in the first place. She decided to get up from her resting spot and roll with it.

"Nah, I'm good, I just want to relax." She responded, stretching and yawning halfway through her sentence. "You don't really need my help, you look like you're catching them just fine."

Asriel's grin disappeared for a moment. "Okay! But that other net's right here if ya need it!" Asriel grinned again and bouced off when he noticed a new butterfly fluttering over his head. Frisk had an creeping feeling of unease in the back of her head. She didn't feel like this was believable for Asriel to be playing here like there was nothing wrong.

The next minute she found herself lying back on the flowers, with Asriel lying right beside her. There was a comfortable silence between them, before he decided to speak up. "So..." He pondered. "S-so... do mum and dad ever... y-y'know, mention me at all?" A nerve was felt in Frisk's gut. She froze for a second, but relaxed and answered his question to the best of her abilities. "Ummm, well... they've never really gone into heavy details about it with me. Not that they need to. I'm sure they talk about it between themselves but I can understand them being reluctant to bring it up among others, even in a private setting."

They laid together in silence again, not a peep out of Asriel. He spoke again after a few minutes. "Do you like how I've kept the flowers all pretty?" He asked. Frisk sat up again. She saw Asriel kneeling down in the very middle of the flowers, staring intently at the ground. She got up and slowly walked towards him. "Yeah. You've done a really great job maintaining the flowers Asriel, the meadow is beautiful."

Asriel looked down sheepisly. "Yeah, thanks. It keeps me busy, plus I suppose it's only right that I do it for Ch-" They both froze. The realization hit Frisk. Asriel couldn't quite get the last word out. "For Ch-" He shakily inhaled. "Y-you know... for _Chara_." He whispered that last word almost to the pointed of it being inaudible, though Frisk heard it, and it still sent a chill down her spine after all these years. She'd completely forgotten that this very meadow was the Fallen Child's resting place. They where standing right over her grave. "I-I know now Chara wasn't a nice person," Asriel began. "But she was still my little sister. I can't ever forget that. And we _did_ have some genuinely fun times together, before everything went... bad."

Asriel began to sniffle a little. He knelt closer to the ground, and began to sob softly. Frisk reached out her arm to comfort him, but just as she touched his back, he stifled his next cry. "Sorry..." He sniffled, "I-I'm s-such a big crybaby, it's pathetic... heh heh." Asriel took a deep breath and exhaled. He didn't want to look weak again in front of his friend. "I actually wish... that Chara could've been more like you, Frisk." Frisk looked down, trying to find the right words to say, but she just couldn't find any. Asriel looked up at Frisk. "Y'know, it's really amazing that you were able to set everyone free. But Frisk..." He stood up and looked at Frisk with frightened black eyes.

 **"** _ **Why didn't you try to save me?**_ **"** Suddenly, The surroundings went dark. The glow from the sunlight on the flowers ceased to be, and to Frisk it felt like the walls of the caves were closing in. Asriel grabbed Frisk's arm desperately, and began to shake her. **"** _ **Why didn't you help me? Why did you leave me here alone? I'm so alone Frisk, HELP ME!**_ **"** Frisk was terrorfied. The memories, the fears started rushing back in, everything she had done that had plauged her with guilt was melding together, in an unclear vision. Asriel was slipping away into the ground. **"** _ **FRISK, SAVE ME, HELP ME,**_ **"** He was screaming, pulling her down with him, his voice changing and becoming higher pitched and distorted almost like... Flowey? **"** _ **DON'T LEAVE ME! HELP ME!**_ **"** His face was melting away, but his eyes kept in place and were staring straight into Frisk's, who couldn't loosen herself from his desperate grip. **"** _ **HELP ME**_ **"** The arms gripping Frisk no longer felt like arms, but rather... vines? He was pulling her down deeper with him. **"** _ **HELP ME**_ **"** Frisk's eyes were flooded with tears of fright, but in the corner of her eye, she caught a quick glimpse behind Asriel, of the silhouette of a figure, a figure like a small child's. The figure was gripping his neck. **"** _ **HELP ME**_ **"** The figure began laughing, a cruel, malevolent laughter that didn't feel human nor monster-like. Frisk saw red eyes open on the figure. Eyes that were soulless and evil, and a chilling grin split across the figure's face.

 **" _HELP ME_ " **Frisk was completely immobilized. Feeling herself being pulled down into the ground with a frightened, screaming Asriel. The one soul she couldn't save.

 **" _HELP ME_ "**

Suddenly, Frisk found herself sat upright in her bed. She was panting, had residue of tears in her eyes and felt an unpleasant cold sweat on her skin. But the night terror was over. She was back in reality, in her own bed, in her own town, in her own nineteen year-old self. As she calmed herself, she looked to her right side to see the sleeping figure next to her, momentarily filling her with happy relief. She was thankful that she didn't wake him up. But then again, Sans could practically sleep through a snowstorm at one of his old sentry posts.

That happy feeling didn't last though. This wasn't the first time she'd experienced a PSTD night terror, and Frisk knew that there was no way she would be able to go back to sleep that night. Quietly and carefully, she slipped out of bed, put on her fluffy slippers and headed for the bedroom door. She needed a hot drink and some quiet time to think. She made her way downstairs, careful not to wake Papyrus up either. God knows if she did, she'd never hear the end of him doting on her and trying to get an explanation out of her as to why she was up and feeling stressed at such a late hour. Midnight spaghetti wasn't exactly the kind of snack she craved for.

The relief of being back in reality filled Frisk with Determination.


	3. The Interview

Trashy midnight TV was utterly brain-numbing. But then again, that's exactly what Frisk needed at the moment. Less deep late-night existential pondering of her own and others free will, and something more simple and harmless. Junk food for the brain, if you will.

She tried to decipher her dream at first, she really did, but soon realized that it would do no good for her. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if the dream was just a passing fluke, but it wasn't. It was a reoccurring nightmare that had been plaguing her for the last few months. Reoccurring in the sense that it always had the same theme, but not necessarily the same setting and imagery. The rules of the visions were very clear though.

There always was Asriel, there was always a twelve year old Frisk, there always was a desperate pleading for help, and there was always that unbearable guilt in Frisk's gut that clung onto her for hours, or days even after that nightmare.

She was mainly flicking through channels, trying to find something that was just the right amount of tasteless drivel that wasn't too pretentious or too vapid. Cooking shows and reality TV reruns were the main shows airing at this hour. Frisk finally settled on the channel that was airing "Cooking With A Killer Robot", starring Mettaton.

Frisk smiled. The vain, flamboyant robot always brightened her mood up. He just had that effect on people. The human world had really taking a liking to Mettaton, and he was now one of the hottest stars of the time in Hollywood, with his own reality TV show, talk show, record deal, modelling agency, and merchandise line. He _really_ put all those reality TV girls to shame without even trying, especially those ones that had fake tans and big fake butts.

Mettaton has just finished making a pastry on the show. Dramatically presenting it to the live audience. "~And THAT darlings, is how you make a KILLER QUICHE~" A round of applause sounded. Years ago, the show was a one-off elaborate set up to trap Frisk and stop her from progressing further into Hotland, but Mettaton liked the concept so much that he decided to turn it into a real show. Only this the "Killer" in the title referred not to a human-killing robot, but rather a robot with KILLER style, and that he was.

To Frisk's disappointment, the show was just about over. "THANK YOU SO MUCH DARLINGS, and remember to kill not with knives, but with STYLE! GOODNIGHT!" Mettaton blew kisses to the audience, waving goodnight. Might as well change the channel, Frisk thought. She almost did, but the next show that came on was a rerun of a daytime talk show, starring a thin woman in a suit with short blonde hair, who danced onto the set in time with the upbeat music. Frisk thought she might like to see a dance off one day between this host and Mettaton. She chuckled quietly. THAT would be a sight to see. She decided to leave the show on.

Once the host stopped with the quirky quips and anecdotes, she announced her first guest of the show. "And so our first guest today is a brave young lady whom is one of the most influential people of our time. At the tender age of _twelve_ she fell into the crevice of the infamous Mt. Ebott and saved monster kind, bringing them back to the outside world. She's made speeches all over the world, is an activist for equal rights between monsters and humans, as well as the official ambassador of monsters, please welcome Frisk!"

"Oh God." Frisk gasped. This was a rerun of an interview she did about six months ago. Of all the times it had to be played, she was at her most emotionally vulnerable. She certainly didn't feel influential or powerful, especially not now. But then again, she didn't really remember what she said that day on the show. Maybe she'd leave it on, just for a little while. After the light hearted introductions and "how-are-yous" between the host and Frisk, the proper interview began.

"So last time you were on my show, you were about thirteen, is that right?" The woman asked.

"Yeah, I think I just turned thirteen at the time. It's been a while huh?" Frisk answered.

"Yeah, and I must say you've grown into a beautiful young woman. Are there any nice young guys in your life lately?" The host inquired with a wry smile, and the audience "Oood" a little.

"Weeell, not that I wanna say. In my experience human guys are _really_ boring." Frisk answered with a charismatic smile. "Monster guys are so much better." She winked. The audience laughed and cheered at what they thought was a joke.

Frisk still stood by this sentiment. All the human guys that had approached her were really dull at best, and cocky and rude at worst. She knew human guys weren't all like this, but in her experience and with her fame, she just ran into the bad ones. Not that she cared. After all, the one she really loved was sleeping upstairs, and that was a relationship she preferred to keep private to the world.

The interview continued. "So the seventh anniversary of the Liberation of Monsters is coming up, what do you plan on doing to celebrate?"

"Well, I think I might just have a private party with my closest friends. I'm not much for cameras, you know." Frisk answered.

The host laughed. "But you're in front of the cameras right now!"

Frisked laughed back. "I know. _After_ this show, I'm hibernating. I'm so going back to my little cave for a while." She joked to the audience. They laughed with her.

"Alright, so we're almost out of time, but I really gotta know one thing Frisk, how does it feel even after all this time, that _you alone_ were able to save all those monsters? Do you have any regrets? If you could go back in time and right a wrong, would you do it?"

Frisk's eyes lit up from where she was sitting. What did she say to this again?

She listened carefully to her response. "No. I have absolutely _no_ regrets. It's so humbling to be considered this _hero_ to this race of beautiful people. They're all like my family. They took me in and raised me to be the woman I am today. I'd _never_ leave them behind or do anything to hurt them. And If I could, I'd _never_ go back in time. One of the things I've had to learn is to live with my mistakes and take responsibility."

Frisk just stared blankly at the television screen as the audience applauded loudly. She had no words. She was absolutely _disgusted_ with herself with herself right now. She just sat there on the show, basking in the attention selfishly, pretending to be humble, all while lying to the whole world about her convictions. She _had_ regrets. She _didn't_ take responsibility for her mistakes, and she _had_ the ability to go back in time and change events, and had abused that power many times. The last time she reset over seven years ago, she didn't hurt or kill anyone. But before then... she made mistakes she'd never forgive herself for.

She'd accidently killed Toriel in self-defence in her first timeline, before backtracking to her save out of sheer guilt, doing the same thing again only with miscellaneous monsters she'd encountered, and _even_ one time after facing off with Papyrus. That last one in particular wrecked her with guilt, considering the person she was in a relationship with now.

However, all those times were accidents. There was only one time and one person that Frisk killed in cold blood. And that "person" was Flowey. Before her first reset, and after she defeated Flowey in his Omega form, she kept trying to spare him. But he pushed her, and _pushed_ her. Promising her that he'd learned nothing and that he'd come back and kill all of her friends over and over again. Finally, thinking back to Asgore's proposal to adopt her, before having him killed by Flowey in cold blood, she'd had enough of being merciful. In angry tears, Frisk slashed Flowey from stem to bud, making sure his death was a painful one. Hoping that the son of a bitch would finally be dead for good. How wrong she was.

And now that she knew who Flowey _truly_ was, she felt sick about it. And even sicker for hiding the fact that she'd never even bothered to go back to the ruins and visit him again, let alone save him.

She crawled into a ball on the couch and began to cry silently, cursing herself for being so selfish.

In her guilt, Frisk didn't feel very Determined.

* * *

At about 1:30 in the morning, Sans began to stir. Halfway between being awake and asleep, he rolled over to his left side and reached out his arm, feeling around for the figure that usually occupied the other side of the bed. "Mmmm, C'mere, cutie." He grumbled in his half-sleep. "Howzabouta midnight trip to the bone zo-" As soon as his skeletal hand felt the cool, empty space on the bed where Frisk slept, the other half of his being that was asleep woke up.

"Huh?" Sans leaned up from his pillow, looking around. "Aw no, Frisk." As soon as Sans saw the bedroom door ajar, with the lights from the TV set from downstairs reflecting on the walls, he knew what was up. It had happened a few times already these past few weeks. "You poor kiddo." He muttered to himself in a sympathetic tone. He frequently used to get night terrors too. In fact, he still experienced the odd one occasionally, but didn't like to talk about them. Unlike Frisk, he wasn't one to wear his emotions on his sleeve all the time.

He got up from bed and put his robe on. He knew she at least needed a little company from her favourite skeleton. A good pun-filled chuckles might cheer her up, he thought. Little did he know, it would take a lot more that some corny jokes to make Frisk feel better.


	4. Love Will Keep You Determinated

_Okay guys, compared to the first three, this is a looong chapter. But I couldn't really bring myself to split it into two parts and continue writing Frisk this angsty. I wanted there to be a happy end to this chapter so we can move on and get to other stuff. BTW, I'm not sure if the end of this chapter warrants a jump in the rating, since I suppose it's a little suggestive, but mostly kind of fluffy in a way. I mean, sexytimes are fun and all, but I myself am not game enough to write them! 0/0_

 _I also know it's taken a while for this chapter to come out but it's Christmas time and life is busy and whatnot, so it might be a little while as well for chapter five, but rest assured! I have chapters planned and won't abandon this fic before it gets a proper outcome!_

 _Either way, I hope you guys enjoy and stay Determined!_

* * *

Sans tip-toed out of the bedroom door, trying not to wake Papyrus up, who was snoring quite loudly in the next room. Sans knew he needed to tread carefully with how he'd go about comforting Frisk, since she'd insisted all the times before when this happened that she'd be fine on her own. But this had been happening too many times now to ignore, and Sans was determined to at least to try and get her to open up about what was bothering her.

She may have always been a resilient person, but this needless bottling up of feelings simply wouldn't do. The poor girl had been through so much already and had so much pressure thrust upon her at a young age, it wasn't fair for her to have to go about all this on her own, Sans thought. He may not have always seen her in the light that he does now, a beautiful and spirited young woman, but the one thing that never changed was the fact that he was always looking out for her.

Frisk had feelings for Sans for quite a long time, and Sans reciprocated her romantic feelings after she turned eighteen. They now had been dating for about a year and a half, but their romantic relationship was something they kept mainly to themselves for various reasons.

For one, the last thing Frisk needed was the human press hounding her anymore than they already did, and she knew that their relationship would be made a total spectacle of, regardless if it was viewed by people in a positive or a negative light. Considering the fact that they assumed that Frisk had been taken prisoner by the monsters seven years ago, they might try to create some sort of scandal in which they spread rumours that she'd been "corrupted" by monsters or some other nonsense.

The monster world was diverse and accepting when it came to romantic relationships, but that wasn't so much the case among humans, they learned. When Undyne and Alphys finally settled in on the surface, they had a hard time believing that it was against the law in many places for two women to marry one another or adopt children, not to mention the burning questions they got pertaining to how their physical relationship would work between a fish woman and a lizard.

That was why Sans and Frisk also kept their relationship a secret from most of the monsters outside of their truest companions. _One_ of the reasons at least. Someone was _bound_ to run their mouth to the tabloids in return for a handsome reward. Frisk didn't even come out about her relationship to Toriel and Asgore. Not that they still treated her like a child or a naïve teen, (Well, at least Asgore didn't) but Toriel in particular shared a certain kinship with Sans, since they were both lovers of groan-inducing puns and practical jokes, and in her eyes, Sans was like an older brother to Frisk, and she had him promise all those years ago to always look out for her and protect her, so Frisk was a little worried of _how_ she'd react if she were to tell her. She promised herself that she would tell both her parents at some point, but for now, she thought it was best to play it safe.

A few of the monsters in the village they lived in had picked up on them being together. But then again, most of them were people that Frisk could trust to keep a secret, or a _half_ -secret at least, considering that a lot of the time, for as much as the couple wanted to keep their private life private, the human girl and skeleton guy didn't make much of an effort to hide their affection in public. Grillby always saw them snuggling together in a booth at his diner, the former Royal Guard dogs could smell each other's scent on the other, and even though they hadn't officially told Undyne and Alphys that they were a couple, Undyne _always_ had to tease them about how cosy they were around each other. She'd already picked up on it, and no doubt informed Alphys in her own time.

Papyrus was fully aware of what was going on between them. Sort of. Frisk and Sans both agreed that they'd make no effort to try and hide it from him, considering that he was the former's brother and their housemate who slept in the room right across from them. There was _no_ way that they could hide what was going on in that bedroom on some nights. Papyrus was innocent, but even he wasn't that naïve. So why even bother to hide it? Papyrus was happy for them anyway. Though sometimes a little _too_ happy. ( _"YOU TWO ARE MY NUMBER ONE SHIP!"_ ) But he gave them their space when they needed it, and honestly didn't really question the "activities" that occurred behind closed doors. He probably assumed they were just solving an intense kind of puzzle. A _very_ Papyrus thing to presume.

The _other_ reason Frisk and Sans tried to keep their relationship as private as they could was the fact of the uncomfortable elephant in the room: Sans met and grew close to Frisk when she was a _twelve year old girl_ , and when _he_ was already a grown male. A fact that Frisk always tried to ignore, but couldn't deny. Sometimes she wondered if what they were doing was taboo, as even the monster world had standards on what was socially acceptable when it came to love and sex.

But she _really_ didn't want herself or Sans to think about it that way, and at the end of the day, she was too happy with the way things were. The Skeleton species of monsters didn't actually age, as Sans informed Frisk a long time ago, but it still didn't make the fact any less questionable. Questionable at least to Sans, who frankly felt way more uneasy about the situation at times than his girlfriend did. Frisk was worried only if _others_ perceived it as creepy, if only for the personal safety of the two, otherwise she couldn't care less what others thought.

Sans on the other hand, was worried if he _himself_ was creepy, but Frisk assured him that he wasn't a creep. She'd playfully tease him by telling him that he was inherently creepy by being a skeleton, then do a suggestive wiggle of her hips or give him a deep kiss to fluster him some more. She _loved_ doing that to him, and it was usually the way that discussion would end. All would be forgotten in a passionate kiss or tickle fight.

But tonight, Sans knew that they'd need to have a proper discussion on Frisk's late night trips downstairs after these nightmares, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. Sans had picked up on what might be going on in her head, and while he wasn't a mind reader, he knew a _lot_ more about what not only was happening in the present, but what had happened in the _past_. Sans knew that it was time for him to own up to some things himself.

* * *

Frisk was fixing herself a snack in the kitchen, some easy instant noodles. Her eyes hurt from crying. She knew it was pointless, but when else would she be able to do it? Not that she wasn't an emotional person, but she refused to cry on camera and preferred not to cry in company if she could help it. She'd mostly broken down in tears of sorrow in front of Toriel and Asgore. They were her parents after all, and they wouldn't fault their little girl for being emotionally vulnerable. She'd cried in front of Sans before, but still had yet to allow herself to go to that dark place in her mind and let herself by vulnerable in front of him.

She sat back on the couch, digging into the noodles. A late night showing of music videos was on, but Frisk kept the volume down quite low. It's not like she was even listening anyway. The flashy colours were pretty though. It was the perfect brain rotting garbage.

Sans tip-toed down the stairs as quietly as he could, but allowed his footsteps to become heavier as he approached the living room, to make sure he didn't alarm Frisk. He stood at the back of the couch, trying to find the right words to break the silence. He walked round to the side of the couch. "Hey kid, whatcha doing out here so early in the morning?" Sans asked in a soft voice. Frisk turned her head slowly to face him. Great, he tracked her down, she thought. She didn't respond. She hung her head down. He knew damn well why she was out here. Sans sat down on the couch next to her. "Ya look bone tired. Another nightmare, right?"

Frisk sighed sadly. "You know me too well." She looked up at Sans. "I just wish I could get a proper night's rest." She was holding back a choke in her voice. Sans nodded at her with a tender expression. "You know you can talk to me, babe. You can't keep hiding these worries to yourself." Frisk took a deep breath and tried to keep her words steady. "I-I know but, it's not just about the dreams I'm having... w-well it is, but it's the dreams that have been bringing back bad memories that I've been too ashamed of to share with anyone." Frisk continued in a shaky voice, her heart pounding. "Sans... some of the things I've done... y-you'd never forgive me for." Tears began to well in the ducts of Frisk's eyes. Sans placed his right hand on Frisk's back and tenderly began to rub. "I thought I'd really have a hard time trying to convince you to talk to me about this." Sans whispered to her gently. "But babe, it looks like you're at the end of your tether."

And Sans was completely right. Frisk suddenly broke into sobs, head in her hands. But Sans encouraged her to look up at him and pulled her into a close, warm hug, her head nestled in on his shoulder blade, with him continuing to rub her back lovingly. "I'm _sorry_ , I'm _so sorry._ " Frisk whimpered through strangled sobs. "Shhh, _baby girl_ ," Sans whispered to her. "You have _nothing_ to be sorry for, okay? _Nothing_."

Frisk looked up again at Sans, shaking her head. " _But I do!_ There's _so_ much I have to own up to! Stuff I should've told you about long ago." She sniffled. Sans had a hunch she was ready to talk about some times that she didn't know that he knew. "Stuff like what?" He asked her. Frisk took in a shaky breath. "W-Well... for a start... w-what if I told you, that all those years ago, and even now I suppose... I had the power to do s-some kind of do-over?" Frisk broke into sobs again. Sans saw that Frisk was getting distraught, and it hurt to see her like this. So he decided that this was the best time to tell her.

"Frisk, sweetheart. I _know_ about the resets." Frisk looked up, and her eyes widened. That meant... did he already know of the mistakes she made? "Granted, I don't remember all the events that take place in each of them only pieces that I've had to relive multiple times, but I'm at least able to keep track of them. You _do_ know that I'm kind of a quantum physicist, right? Sure, I'm long retired from that occupation, but you of all people know I'm not quite the bonehead that everyone thinks of me as." Sans chuckled.

Frisk was shocked, but as soon as Sans mentioned that he was in fact once a quantum physicist, a few things suddenly made sense. "How do you think I knew all the shortcuts? Not to mention that time you gained access to my workroom at the old home's back shed? Ay, remember that, girly? I _really_ made you say "I'm the legendary fartmaster" to gain access to that place." That memory got a giggle out of Frisk. Sans grinned ear to non-existent ear at her smile. "Yeah, I do." Frisk said. She pulled away from Sans' embrace, remembering that he still didn't know of all the events that took place. "Sans..." Frisk took another deep breath. "Do you remember then that... in a few timelines, before resetting... I actually killed a few monsters by accident... in self-defence?" She couldn't quite look Sans in the eyes.

"Well... I can imagine that it happened for sure in a few timelines. But they were timelines you reset, right? Plus I _know_ in my heart that they were accidents." Sans said to Frisk, placing her hands in his. "You can't do everything perfect the first time. Especially considering that looking back on it, you really _were_ being attacked from every corner."

Frisk spoke up. "You're being too forgiving Sans. It wasn't something that just happened once." She had to tell him. "The first time, _before_ I even reset the first timeline, I accidently..." Frisk started to cry again. " _I killed Toriel._ " Sans' eyes widened. Frisk moved away from him. She was prepared for him to hate her. "And I obviously reset that too, trust me, I know I'm a _horrible person_ for what I did, but she was coming at me with all her strength and I didn't know what to do and-" Frisk was desperately choking out her words though sobs, barely stopping to breathe. "-And I just pushed her back when she got too close a few times and I had _no idea_ at the time how fragile monsters were compared to humans but even after that when monsters attacked me I didn't think my actions through and-"

Sans had to calm her down. He couldn't bear to see her in this state. He stood up and walked towards her, reaching out for her. "Frisk, _please clam down._ I know this is hard for you to finally come out and talk about with but you just need to take a deep breath and-" Frisk suddenly blurted it out. There was no good was she could come out with it. " _I killed Papyrus once!_ " She took a few steps back, not _daring_ to look up at Sans. She kept her eyes on her feet. "It was the same situation as Toriel. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. I pushed him back to stop him from running at me but... I forgot how I was strong against monsters."

"I _immediately_ went back and changed fate. But it didn't change the fact the in one timeline somewhere, I actually _killed_ your brother." Frisk took a few more steps back, prepared to bolt out the door and run. _Like the coward I am,_ she thought. "I didn't take responsibility for my actions and I just backtracked instead. I've hidden this from you for _so_ that I don't deserve forgiveness. I j-just...I"

Frisk suddenly felt warm arms around her. She was in the tightest embrace she'd ever been in. This was not what she expected. What was remarkable was that she could hear Sans... sniffling. "Frisk... I am _so glad_ that you were finally able to talk about this. You don't have to bottle all this up ever again. I just want to see my girl happy again."

Frisk was confused, but she felt an elation in her chest at the fact that he was _holding_ her after her confession, not abhorring her. He held her, rubbing her back again and gently swaying her side by side. "But... y-you don't hate me for killing Papyrus?" She questioned. Sans breathed in her ear, which to be honest, she found quite pleasurable. "I'd never hate you. What you did happened a long a time ago and you _changed it_. Papyrus is _upstairs_ , safe and asleep. _That's_ the reality. If you didn't take responsibility then you _wouldn't_ have changed the outcome. I know in my heart that you'd never kill Papyrus or Toriel with any evil intent. You were given a gift Frisk, and you've used it for _good_. Not evil, unlike the imposter I fought over a few timelines." Sans paused. "Or that Satanic little weed." By the word "weed", Frisk knew Sans must've meant Flowey. But she didn't know who this imposter is. "Who's the imposter?" She asked. "I don't wanna talk about it tonight. I'll go deeper into it another time." Sans said quietly.

The couple stayed in each other tight embrace for a few moments. It felt peaceful, relaxing and like a weight had been lifted from Frisk's shoulders. Suddenly, Sans started chuckling quietly. Frisk noticed this, finding it odd, "Huh? Is there something funny?" She asked. "Oh heh, I just had a thought. It was very likely that Papyrus annoyed you so much with his puzzles and heroic speeches that it drove you to _murder_." Sans broke out into a fit of giggles. Frisk looked up, a little disdained. "Sans, that is _not funny_." She scolded him, but had to admit to herself that it was lovely to see his goofy grin. "Sorry, sorry." Sans breathed, wiping a tear. "Just a little black humour, y'know?"

Frisk smiled. "Yeah. I guess." She loosened herself from San's embrace and sat down on the couch again, Sans following her. They were hand in hand again. Frisk then realised there was something else she forgot to tell him, albeit much more relaxed now about telling him. Before she could open her mouth though, Sans pulled her in for a toothy kiss. It was sweet and deep, and ultimately caused Frisk to forget what she was going to say. After a moment, she pulled away. "I'm exhausted." She sighed. Sans raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Exhausted, ay? Looks like it time for the kiddo to go back to bed." He smiled. Frisk gave Sans a raised eyebrow of her own. "Yeah. This so-called "kiddo" is a grown lady who needs her beauty sleep."

The couple got up from the couch and headed to the stairs. Halfway up, Sans broke the silence. "Say." He looked at Frisk sheepishly. "You're not _too_ tired, are ya cutie?" Frisk said nothing. A smirk formed on her lips, eyes lidded. Looking closely, she saw a glimpse of blue in Sans' left eye.

* * *

"I _love_ monster magic." Frisk giggled airily, legs tangled in the ruffled blankets and sheets. "You _always_ say that." Sans said with a smile, loving the sound of her laugh. Frisk smiled back. "Yeah, but it's so true." Frisk was basking in her afterglow, eyes closed, snuggled up to San's chest. As bony as it was, she didn't care. It was still comforting. Sans' left arm was draped around the curve of Frisk's back. Still rubbing her back up and down, he utterly enjoyed the feel of her bare human skin. The couple were lying together, and were _pretty_ spent.

"If I wasn't so _tired_ , I'd go for another round. Seriously Frisk, your skin feels _so good_." Sans squeezed one of Frisk's breasts. She blushed at this. It was so nice to feel desired for even the simplest things. And the best part about it was that she knew Sans was genuine. Outside of practical jokes and puns, there was no bullshit with this guy.

Sans leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Sometimes, I wish I had skin of my own. It'd make it feel better for you." Frisk shook her head. "That's sweet of you, but you know I like you just the way you are. Besides, that magic of yours can do some truly wonderful things." Sans chuckled. "Yeah. I'll never forget that look on your face when I first demonstrated it. You looked like all your Christmases came at once." He paused and gave a her naughty grin. "Pun intended." Frisk playfully smacked his side. "Hey now, that's enough out of you, you naughty Skeley-Bear." Sans looked at her with a curious grin. That was a new one.

"Skeley-Bear?" He asked. "Well, yeah. Haven't you ever thought that you looked like a big ol' cuddly teddy bear?" Sans gave a mock frown. "You're gonna ruin my thug reputation, missy." He gave Frisk a tap on her rear. She squeaked a little. "Oh yeah, a thug that wears pink _bunny slippers_." She laughed. "Uh, _yeah_. Only a real thug wears bunny slippers." Sans said proudly.

Frisk squeezed Sans a little tighter in her arms. "Nah, you're a teddy bear and you know it. I never thought a skeleton could be so _cuddly_." "And passionate?" Sans added. "Yeah. That really surprised me." Frisk said. "But at the same time it didn't. You know what they say: The quiet ones are always the freaks." Sans laughed. "Speak for yourself, you little minx." He spanked her again. She squealed. "See? You like it when I punish ya." Sans looked at her with a cocky grin, that blue glint in his eye shining again.

Frisk looked straight in his eye, climbed on top of him, and the two indulged in a delicious kiss. Sans held her tight in his arms, and Frisk moaned in between parting breaths. She knew _that_ would rile him up. " _You saucy little minx_." He breathed. "What are you trying to do to me?" Frisk stopped the kiss for a moment a looked at him with the most innocent eyes she could muster. " _I dunno_." She muttered almost silently.

They smiled at each other, And began to kiss again, Frisk moaning and earning approving grunts from Sans, as they engaged in their afterplay.

Sans' kiss and warm embrace filled Frisk with Determination.


End file.
